Coventry to get 36,000 new homes by 2031 - The Coventry Observer

Coventry to get 36,000 new homes by 2031

Coventry Editorial 22nd Aug, 2014 Updated: 28th Oct, 2016   0

COVENTRY is set to be transformed over the next 20 years after it emerged more than 36,000 homes will be built in and around the city.

The council said less than ten per cent of Green Belt land would be used but more than half of the new builds will be in the countryside.

Around 16,000 homes will be built on brownfield sites although some land is being saved in the hope of new industry moving onto them.

Other sites outside of the city boundary, in Warwickshire, are also being looked at.




The figures – for 36,220 homes to be built by 2031 – make up part of Coventry’s Local Plan, a document all councils must produce in a bid to shape the future and set planning policy.

Government chiefs had thrown out a previous attempt after claims just 11,000 homes were needed in the city.


The council will now identify appropriate Green Belt sites. Bosses said the 1,811 homes needed each year was fewer than the 2,150 built across the 1950s, when the city underwent massive post-war changes.

“Coventry wants to become a top ten city again,” business cabinet member Coun Kevin Maton said.

“Jobs and economic success are returning here.

“But in order to ensure this is sustainable we need to build more homes.

“Our population is growing again. That’s good news after decades of decline, but it means we must build homes for families who want to move here to live and work and for our young people who want to stay here.

He added: “We absolutely understand the concerns of residents who are worried about the loss of Green Belt land.

“But this plan allows us to control where development happens, making sure it’s in the places that are right for the city. If we don’t have a robust Local Plan, developers can simply build wherever they like, and everyone loses.”

Councillors will discuss the plan on September 2 before a meeting of Full Council on September 9 and seven weeks of public engagement.

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